Get that motor running

Joanna Davies | 26th February 2010

Karaka will be revving with the sound of vintage motors next month. Joanna Davies gets the good oil on the event.

Bill Clow's garage is filled with engines. Not the kind that would run a car, but old stationary engines that he is restoring slowly.

"That one filled the room with smoke last time we turned it on," says Mr Clow pointing to a vintage marine engine. "It should power a boat, but the oil level was too high and it all burned off everywhere."

Mr Clow has been fascinated with fixing old engines since he was 12. "I remember my brother buying one and it just caught my imagination."

A member of the Vintage Engine Restorers Cub, Mr Clow will show some of his collection at the Karaka Vintage Day in March. Club chairman Harry Maidment says the bi-annual event is a chance to show people what members do.

"Some of these stationary engines are around 100 years old and, in some parts of the country, people still use them to power their milking sheds," he says.

The event is organised by the restorers' club and Karaka Historical Society, to raise money for the society's new museum.

"It is a heritage day in many ways," says Mr Maidment. "There's going to be some steam engines and vintage tractors and hay bailers. It's just amazing how some kids are so interested in these old machines."

He says the weather will dictate the size of the crowd. "But we will be the silly enthusiasts who will be there in wind, rain or snow."

Rob Higham, from the historical society, expects at least 5000 people to come along this year. "Since our first vintage day in 2000, more and more people have come each year."

Mr Higham says the funds will go  toward finishing the museum. "We hope to be finished in May, but that depends on funds. We do have enough to finish the structure, but there are ongoing costs with projects like this," he says.

Organisers hope the Masport centenary,  also at the vintage day, will be a drawcard. "The company has a huge amount of history in Auckland and we're collecting as many engines of theirs as we can for the centenary."

Start your engines

Karaka Vintage Day, Sunday, March 28, on the corner of Linwood and Blackbridge Rds, Karaka.
$20 for a family or $10 per adult and $2 for 6- to 15-year-olds.
There will also be military vehicles, helicopter rides, vintage car displays and horse and wagon rides.